1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waterproof camera having bleeding holes which connect the inside and outside of the camera, and having an air permeable and water impermeable filter which is mounted to the bleeding holes.
2. Description of Related Art
The assignee of the present application has proposed a waterproof camera, in which a large change in the internal volume of the camera body takes place during the zooming operation, wherein an air permeable and water impermeable filter is attached to a bleeding hole connecting the inside and the outside of the camera body. In this waterproof camera, the bleeding hole balances the internal and external pressures of the camera body so that zooming and focusing can be effected with a constant operational force even though the internal volume is varied. The air permeable and water impermeable filter, which is permeable to air but impermeable to water, is made, for example, of tetrafluoroethylene resin.
The assignee of the present application has also proposed a waterproof camera in which a plurality of separate bleeding holes are provided on a convexly curved surface portion so that little or no deformation of the air permeable and water impermeable filter occurs when the air passes therethrough, as shown in FIG. 5A. In FIG. 5A, a plurality of separate bleeding holes 37 are provided on a curved filter supporting portion 13 on the front face 12a of the camera body. A circular air permeable and water impermeable filter 36 is adhered to the filter supporting portion 13 using a circular cylindrical adhering jig 18, as shown in FIG. 5B. The filter adhering jig 18 has a circular pressing surface 19 which is to be depressed against the air permeable and water impermeable filter 36, and has a circular filter receiving recess 19a which is provided in the pressing surface 19 to receive the filter supporting portion 13 and the portion of the air permeable and water impermeable filter 36 adhered thereto.
Upon adhering the air permeable and water impermeable filter 36 onto the filter supporting portion 13, the air permeable and water impermeable filter 36 is first placed on the filter supporting portion 13 of the front face 12a which is oriented upward, and then, the filter adhering jig 18 is depressed against the air permeable and water impermeable filter 36 with the filter receiving circular recess 19a receiving the filter supporting portion 13. An adhesive is either provided on the peripheral edge on the back surface of the air permeable and water impermeable filter 36 or on the opposing front face 12a of the camera body so that the air permeable and water impermeable filter 36 can be adhered to the front face 12a in a watertight fashion.
During the adhering operation as mentioned above, however, if the filter receiving recess 19a is deviated from the corresponding filter supporting portion 13, the air permeable and water impermeable filter 36 can be scratched and damaged by the inner peripheral edge of the pressing surface 19 of the adhering jig 18. To avoid this, an operator must carefully concentrate when adhering the air permeable and water impermeable filter 36, resulting in a decreased operation efficiency.